The present invention relates generally to chewing gums and other confectioneries. More specifically, the present invention relates to chewing gums and other products including sorbitol.
It is known to provide alditols, such as sorbitol, mannitol, and xylitol in chewing gums and other confectioneries. Alditols can be used in chewing gum, as well as other confectioneries and food products, as a "sugar substitute." These sugar substitutes have the advantage that they are not fermented in the mouth of the consumer to form products that can attack dental enamel. Therefore, sorbitol, as well as other alditols, is used in sugarless products. Additionally, sorbitol can be used as a bulking agent.
A number of patents have disclosed and discussed the use of various compositions including sorbitol. U.S. Pat. No. 3,857,965 discloses a chewing gum composition made from melting crystalline sorbitol and mixing the melted sorbitol with gum base and a crystallization retardant. U.S. Pat. No. 4,156,740 to Glass et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,250,196 to Friello, U.S. Pat. No. 4,252,829 to Terrevazzi and U.S. Pat. No. 4,466,983 to Cifrese et al. disclose liquid compositions containing sorbitol used as a centerfill for chewing gum. U.S. Pat. No. 5,120,551 to Yatka et al. discloses a syrup containing sorbitol and other alditols used in chewing gum compositions.
Several patents disclose a syrup for use in chewing gum which is made by mixing glycerin or propylene glycol with an aqueous hydrogenated starch hydrolysate (HSH) such as Lycasin brand HSH from Roquette, including U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,671,961; 4,671,967 and 4,728,515 to Patel et al., each of which are hereby incorporated by reference. It is believed that Lycasin brand HSH contains, on a dry basis, about 6% sorbitol, about 52% maltitol and about 42% of oligosaccharides having a degree of polymerization ("DP") of 3 or greater.
Sorbitol can be provided in chewing gum in its crystalline form. It is believed that crystalline sorbitol currently accounts for approximately 50% of typical sugar-free chewing gum formulations. Unfortunately, crystalline sorbitol is costly. Although it would be desirable to have a replacement for crystalline sorbitol, heretofore, such possible replacements were not as effective, created product stability problems, created processability issues, were even more expensive than crystalline sorbitol, and/or could not be used with certain formulations.
In this regard, aqueous sorbitol has been explored for use in chewing gum. Sorbitol in an aqueous solution is a less expensive alternative, on a dry basis, than crystalline sorbitol. Unfortunately, the use of aqueous sorbitol in chewing gum at levels above 15% can create problems with respect to product stability. Likewise, the use of aqueous sorbitol at levels above 15% can also create processability problems. This is due, it is believed, to the water content contained in the aqueous sorbitol.
Additionally, there are problems with respect to at least certain chewing gum formulations when using sorbitol in an aqueous solution. Because typical aqueous sorbitol solutions contain about 30% water, the water added with the sorbitol is detrimental to moisture sensitive ingredients when sorbitol solution is provided at high levels in chewing gum. A further difficulty with aqueous sorbitol is that it readily crystallizes and causes the gum to become brittle. While Lycasin brand HSH contains a small amount of sorbitol, it does not provide a significant amount of sorbitol such that HSH can be substituted for crystalline sorbitol.
There is therefore a need for an improved method and/or sorbitol product that allows sorbitol to be added to a chewing gum formulation or other confectionary or food product in a non-crystalline state.